Written by

Detroit Free Press Staff Writer

A former top aide to Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano will have to wait another month to see if he’s approved for a $96,000 annual pension at age 41.

Matthew Schenk, Ficano’s former chief of staff who worked just eight and half years for the county, has applied for the controversial pension, but trustees of Wayne County Employee Retirement System this morning delayed a decision on the application until next month.

“The paperwork for Mr. Schenk is not completed,” said Gerard Grysko, deputy director of the system.

The board voted 6-1 to take it up again at the Aug. 26 meeting, but not everyone was satisfied.

“I would prefer to reject the application,” said Trustee Hugh MacDonald.

Schenk’s pension is one of the most controversial, because of his age and the way it came about. It was made possible by an early retirement incentive Ficano offered to appointees in 2011, which waived the age requirement. Typically, Wayne County pensioners must be at least 55 years old to begin collecting the pension.

The pension comes at a time when the latest actuarial study shows the pension system has just 45% of the money it expects to need to pay benefits promised to current and former employees over the next 30 years.

Ficano has defended the buyouts, saying they ultimately saved the county money by reducing overhead, but critics not the appointees were all at-will and could have been let go without sweetheart pension deals.